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This week a letter was sent to the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on behalf of HIGPA and the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) of the American Hospital Association.
The letter concerns the importance of health information technology and data standards that will result in increased patient safety and significant efficiencies in the healthcare supply chain. In short, connecting the supply chain to the electronic medical record is critical to improving patient care, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
“Today, manufacturers, wholesalers/distributors, suppliers, group purchasing organizations, hospitals, and physicians each record and track product information differently, opening the flood gates for medical errors that severely impact patient safety and the quality of care. Without data standards in this area, it is virtually impossible to efficiently recall devices and other supplies and that can lead to grave injury and even death.”
The sunrise date for the GS1 Global Location Number (GLN) for organizational identification (by the end of year 2010) is fast approaching, as is the date for Global Trade Identification Number (GTIN) for product identification (by the end of year 2012). HIGPA, AHRMM, and GS1 Healthcare US have been working closely together to encourage the healthcare industry to adopt these standards, which would ensure that medical products, services, and locations all have unique identifiers.
The resulting supply chain improvement will translate into the delivery of improved clinical services, creating a tracking system for health care products and devices that will be traceable from “product to patient.”
This progress is essential to the future of healthcare.